Q	Do you manage to keep your work and home life separate?
A	No - this is a 7 day a week job. As technology increases so does the working hours. I receive most orders by email and they are dealt with immediately, regardless of which day of the week.

Q	What is the best thing about working from home?
A	No commuting and not having to get up too early.

Q	What are the negative points about working at home?
A	Expected to do domestic jobs just because you're at home.

Q	How do you cope with distractions at home?
A	Very easy, I just ignore them. When you work at home you have to be work motivated. It takes 100% full time effort.

Q	How did you manage financially when you first started working at home?
A	It took 4 years before making a profit. Until then we were living on savings.

Q	What sort of work did you do before you worked at home?
A	I had a franchise with a condom manufacturer in their vending machine division but I lost it in my 40s.

Q	How do you cope with the isolation of working at home?
A	It is isolated but I am a loner and work better on my own.

Q	How do you manage your time?
A	I'm always in my 'office' by 9 and work until my desk is cleared which could be 2pm or 10pm. I always make sure everything is cleared the same day I get it. Storage is getting to be a problem but I can manage just enough stock in a fairly small area.

Q

What advice would you suggest to someone considering working from home?

A

You have to be work motivated and absolutely dedicated. The mail order business is repetitive and extremely boring. You will do exactly the same thing each day: receive order, process it and send it out. You have to be absolutely prepared for the boredom, at least in an office or external workplace there is some chance of a change in routine. Overheads are less when you work from home but they must still be tightly controlled. For instance bank charges are horrendous. If you decide to make a business out of a hobby there is a danger of not separating the hobby from the work. It is essential to keep them separate as the work involves 100% dedication and not being diverted by the recreational side of the hobby. If you are involved in mail order then you will be dealing with clients. You must be aware of data protection act and not reveal personal details of clients to any third business. If you hold customer details you must be registered with data protection. When you are starting out you may have to work for some time without salary so you will need some sort of financial backup.